Dwayne N. Knutsen has been appointed to an Eighth Judicial District trial court bench vacancy in the city of Granite Falls in Yellow Medicine County. The vacancy occurred with the retirement of the Honorable Bruce W. Christopherson on December 31, 2009.

Knutsen is an attorney with the Montevideo law firm of Prindle, Maland, Sellner, Stennes, Knutsen and Stermer and is also the Chippewa County attorney. He has been an attorney with the Prindle firm since 1986 and the Chippewa County attorney since 1999. He was also a part-time assistant Eighth Judicial District public defender from 1995 to 1998. Knutsen earned his juris doctorate degree from the University of Minnesota in 1985 and his bachelor of arts degree from the University of South Dakota at Vermillion in 1973.

"Dwayne is a thoughtful and respectful lawyer who has tried a variety of cases during his 24-year professional career," Governor Pawlenty said. "He has also been a voice for reform and increased efficiency in our judicial system."

Knutsen is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, Minnesota County Attorneys Association, and the Western Minnesota Legal Services Board of Directors. He is also a member and past president of the Montevideo Kiwanis Club, is active with the First Congregational Church in Montevideo, where he served four terms as a trustee and two terms as a moderator, and is a former member of the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association. Knutsen, 58, was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and lives in Montevideo with his wife, Barbara. They have three adult children.